# Cigar Oasis XL Mod



## C.Scott (Mar 28, 2014)

I posted another thread a while back about having a humidor at a cabin which will go largely unattended throughout the year, sometimes for months on end, and I was looking for a humidification solution for a glass-top humidor. The general consensus was that I was crazy to try to have a glass-top humidor get left unattended for months in a dry climate, and that I should use a tupperdor. I agreed, but dangit I really wanted a pretty humidor out on display! I decided to stick with Cigar Oasis, mainly because I have 2 of them sitting aorund collecting dust, but also because they work very well. The only things holding me back were:
1) The foam in the reservoir can only hold so much water, and the foam itself has a short lifespan.
2) The only way to see how much water is left, is to pick it up and "guesstimate" the water content by how heavy it feels. Or, wait until it's completely empty and the alarm goes off. Neither of which is ideal.

So I did what I do in most situations... took out the dremel and superglue. Voila!









Since my reservoir is a newer style without the big opening in the top, and there is no way of taking it apart without destroying it, I used a cutting wheel to cut a rectangle in the side of the reservoir. Then I was able to just use my fingers to scrape out all the old foam. Next, I cut out a piece of polycarbonate (Lexan) to the exact size of the hole I cut, and superglued it into place. After the glue dried, I went over the seam with glue again just to be sure it didn't leak.

I think when I have time, I'm going to come up with some sort of trim piece that covers the seam to make it look better, but for now it works great! I filled the reservoir with distilled water, and now it's got the capacity to last MANY months without a refill, and I can tell at a quick glance what the water level is. Problem solved! I hope...

Does a anyone know if it's safe for me to just use distilled water by itself? Should I use a 50/50 PG/DS mix to prevent mold? Or is there a better way to prevent mold? I'm not sure I need to worry about it, because I don't think mold will grow on distilled water in a sealed container, but I could be wrong.


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## Flyinglow (Apr 14, 2014)

I was talking to a B&M owner today about the Oasis XL because he has them at a great price. He said that few of his customers basically remove the green foam and fill it with gel and use it that way. Seems to last longer and be more steady.

Have been going back and forth on a humidor build as what to use. Really debating building a Raspberry Pi unit from scratch to do what I want.


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## Pattywaggon (May 1, 2014)

WOW great job on the modification of the reservoir!:clap2: 

With the foam being removed, I wonder how long the cigar oasis humidifier would work
with 2 way humidification beads?:hmm:

I don't have any automatic humidification, but my 2-way beads stay at around 65-70% RH for maybe
a little longer than a month. (I open my humidor a lot)

An idea if you want to experiment with your other cigar oasis humidifiers reservoir....


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## C.Scott (Mar 28, 2014)

Pattywaggon said:


> WOW great job on the modification of the reservoir!:clap2:
> 
> With the foam being removed, I wonder how long the cigar oasis humidifier would work
> with 2 way humidification beads?:hmm:
> ...


Thanks! I have a humidifier in my wineador that is the same theory as a CO, but I made it myself. I actually did fill it with HF beads, and it works great, except that the beads really just don't hold very much water. I had to flood them WAY beyond what HF recommends just so I wouldn't have to worry about refilling it every week. That's why I didn't go the bead route on this CO modification. Those gel beads would work awesome, but I've had experiences with those molding in the past, so I'd rather not risk using gel again.


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## C.Scott (Mar 28, 2014)

Whoops... I loaded up the reservoir with water, then put it in my empty humidor before I went to Amsterdam for a week. When I came back, my hygrometer said it was at like 98%. Turns out part of the seam I made must have sprung a leak, because the entire reservoir had dumped its contents into my humidor, the bottom of which was now swollen up like it had a peanut allergy. It's a good thing I decided to do a "dry run" with this idea, so I didn't lose any cigars, all I lost is a $25 humidor. I think I'm going to retrieve the hardware from it, and use it as an excuse to build my own desktop humidor. Hey, when life gives you lemons...

Anyways, I'm not too discouraged about my modified Cigar Oasis idea, I think I just need to find a better way to do it. I was a little nervous about the seam in the beginning, but it held water just fine for a few days, so I thought "no problem". The glue must have been somewhat water soluble or something.


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## Senor_Perfecto (Apr 2, 2014)

I personally think there's room for a competitor to market another active humi system.

1. You should be able to leave it alone as long as you can provide water & power to it.
2. You should be able to provide as much water to it as you want -- i.e. I buy a gallon of distilled water and just stick the dipper into the jug, seal it off, and leave for 6 months. Or hook it up to a reverse-osmosis tap and leave it for as long as Water & Power provides your house with... water & power.
3. You should never need to add or change out foam, beads, gel, or anything else. It should be "set it and forget it." It's just water & a fan, for god's sake.
4. It should have an audible alarm that monitors temperature and humidity and alerts you if either one exceeds your set parameters.
5. Said alarm should have an optional wifi connection that sends me a text if the alarm goes off, and so I can request RH/Temp data any time I want.
6. It should run on AC power or multiple battery sources. If I want to put two D-cells in it, ok. If I want to hook it up to a car battery, ok.
7. Setup should be clear and foolproof and require no tools beyond a screwdriver, some glue/sealant/tape, and maybe a power drill for a water tube.
8. It should be customizable to fit various sizes of humidor/wineador, from desktop to cabinet. The water source need not sit inside the humidor, so more space can be used for what is intended: cigars.

Did I leave anything out?

Will one of you geniuses please put Oasis out of its misery?


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## C.Scott (Mar 28, 2014)

Senor_Perfecto said:


> Will one of you geniuses please put Oasis out of its misery?


If I was confident that I could make such a thing cheap enough to actually have market traction, I'd definitely be on board. C.O. is made in China, for probably $20 each. It sells to stores for probably $50, and then to us for about $80. I don't think any sort of humidifier solution for a small humidor would sell very well if it costs over $200, and at that retail price it would need to be manufactured for probably under $50, and I just can't think of any possible way I could make something that fits the bill for that cheap. But maybe it's possible... I'll think about it this weekend!


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## Emperor Zurg (May 6, 2013)

C.Scott said:


> Whoops... I loaded up the reservoir with water, then put it in my empty humidor before I went to Amsterdam for a week. When I came back, my hygrometer said it was at like 98%. Turns out part of the seam I made must have sprung a leak, because the entire reservoir had dumped its contents into my humidor, the bottom of which was now swollen up like it had a peanut allergy. It's a good thing I decided to do a "dry run" with this idea, so I didn't lose any cigars, all I lost is a $25 humidor. I think I'm going to retrieve the hardware from it, and use it as an excuse to build my own desktop humidor. Hey, when life gives you lemons...
> 
> Anyways, I'm not too discouraged about my modified Cigar Oasis idea, I think I just need to find a better way to do it. I was a little nervous about the seam in the beginning, but it held water just fine for a few days, so I thought "no problem". The glue must have been somewhat water soluble or something.


Since you appear to enjoy projects, here's what I would do...

-Table saw the ruined bottom off your current humidor.
-Saw a new bottom out of nice piece of 1/4" Spanish Cedar
-Trim out a profile in the new bottom piece that just fits the top of the Cigar Oasis unit
-Slap together an ordinary wooden box to function as a humidor stand and contain the CO unit - the height of said box should hold the humidor so that only the top of the CO unit just projects thru it and into the humidor.
-Cut a door in the humidor stand so you can open it and check the water level at a glance
-Buy a glass sight gauge (like you'd find on a big coffee maker) to bolt into the CO tank since the tank is probably made of polyethylene - which nothing will adhere to

That way, if the CO unit leaks, the water won't end up in your humidor, plus the CO unit won't be taking up valuable humidor space. Plus you could even sit the CO unit in a tray to catch the water in the event it does leak. I'd also make some kind of flap (if the CO unit doesn't already have one) that will block off the water surface unless the fan runs. That way the unit can't keep passively adding humidity when the fan isn't running.


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## C.Scott (Mar 28, 2014)

Emperor Zurg said:


> Since you appear to enjoy projects, here's what I would do...
> 
> -Table saw the ruined bottom off your current humidor.
> -Saw a new bottom out of nice piece of 1/4" Spanish Cedar
> ...


Awesome Idea!!! Sadly, the sides of the humidor are ruined as well, but your idea is good enough that's it's worth buying a new one just to try this out. Hell, maybe I can ditch the C.O. reservoir completely then, and make a giant one that fills the whole wooden box you're talking about. Time to hit the old drawing board!


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## Emperor Zurg (May 6, 2013)

C.Scott said:


> Awesome Idea!!! Sadly, the sides of the humidor are ruined as well, but your idea is good enough that's it's worth buying a new one just to try this out. Hell, maybe I can ditch the C.O. reservoir completely then, and make a giant one that fills the whole wooden box you're talking about. Time to hit the old drawing board!


Sounds like a fun project if you ask me.

I don't see the need for DW either if you're removing the foam and just using a tank full of water with a fan blowing across it. The water would be far from any of the cigars and the evaporation will, by nature, distill the water as it's used. You'd just have to clean the crud out of the tank when you fill it back up.

If you want 2-way control, just set the CO unit for something like 62% and put a couple of spent, 65% Boveda packs or dry, 65% HF beads in the humidor where the fan won't blow directly on them. Presto - 2 way humidity control with a bias for adding humidity. You'd just have to check your Boveda packs or beads and dry them out when or if necessary.

I don't think I'd ditch the CO reservoir. Without all the foam that thing has got to hold a quart of water. Probably enough moisture to maintain 100 cigars for 20 years  Well, maybe not THAT long...

One other thought... I'd look into adding maybe 25% PG to the water. Not so much for anything but antifreeze. Then the unit could function throughout the winter as well.


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## Senor_Perfecto (Apr 2, 2014)

C.Scott said:


> If I was confident that I could make such a thing cheap enough to actually have market traction, I'd definitely be on board. C.O. is made in China, for probably $20 each. It sells to stores for probably $50, and then to us for about $80. I don't think any sort of humidifier solution for a small humidor would sell very well if it costs over $200, and at that retail price it would need to be manufactured for probably under $50, and I just can't think of any possible way I could make something that fits the bill for that cheap. But maybe it's possible... I'll think about it this weekend!


Let me know what percolates up from your noodling.


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

The best way I've seen to mod these things is to dig out the foam and replace with water pearls, or like product. They can be found in the floral arrangement section of any Michael's - ish craft store. They hold millions of times their weight in water.

There was an outbreak of people modding their Oases this way several years ago and everyone reported it working brilliantly.


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## Senor_Perfecto (Apr 2, 2014)

Herf N Turf said:


> The best way I've seen to mod these things is to dig out the foam and replace with water pearls, or like product. They can be found in the floral arrangement section of any Michael's - ish craft store. They hold millions of times their weight in water.
> 
> There was an outbreak of people modding their Oases this way several years ago and everyone reported it working brilliantly.


Why doesn't Oasis just make them like that?


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## C.Scott (Mar 28, 2014)

Senor_Perfecto said:


> Why doesn't Oasis just make them like that?


Because they make $$ off people replacing their foam-filled reservoirs annually.

I might try the water pearls thing, i was just worried about them molding after a while


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Senor_Perfecto said:


> Why doesn't Oasis just make them like that?





C.Scott said:


> Because they make $$ off people replacing their foam-filled reservoirs annually.
> 
> I might try the water pearls thing, i was just worried about them molding after a while


EXACTLY! They're as much in the business (if not more) of selling cartridges as the units themselves. That's why they make them so mindnumbingly difficult to remove the foam.

Water pearls aren't nearly as prone to mold as is the foam. I've seen plants sat in them for years with no signs of it.


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## MARK66 (May 8, 2014)

I still like the old style moist and aire


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